August Antics

 Welcome to August! I'm going to do my best to make this a very productive month. I have goals, I have the motivation, and I have the plans! 

I'm aiming for at least 5 books read this month. 1 of which is going to be a Jane Austen novel. 

This is what I have on deck as of now: 

• Persuasion
• Emma
• Dungeon Crawler Carl (finish)
• The Count of Monte Cristo (just whittling through, not aiming to finish this month)
• Carl's Doomsday Scenario (2nd book)

I probably will add a few more as I go along, these are just what's on my "menu" so as per restaurant rules...things are subject to change. 

I am also looking to lose 5lbs by the end of the month. I think this is a doable goal, an easy one for a whole month. I'm starting out at 155lbs on August 1st. 

I'm learning Spanish, teaching myself, so I am going to be doing that too this month. I have resources to help but any suggestions would be lovely! (Just kindly ask for free or at least very very cheap if you do make suggestions) 

I'm also looking to save up as much money as I can. I'm looking to add a side gig (or two) and scrimp and save as much as I can.  I want to have at least 100 or so in savings by the end of the month. 

The last goal I have for the month of August is to be more active here on my blog. I'm looking to get some reviews up. I'll post at least once a week to keep things moving and to check in on my goals.

What are you lovely humans doing this month? 

Update! My lovely friend Michelle is hosting an all month long event with a 24 hour readathon smack dab in the middle of the month! I'll be joining (and maybe doing at least part of the readathon!) so why don't you check it out! 

This Week's Reading Plans

 

I'm going to be pushing to finish this month off strong! Work shifts have changed so there's that, the Lady is needing extra care and I'm going to attempt to get back on track with my work outs and diet, so I'm gonna be a busy lady! 

On deck for the rest of February are as such:

*if I don't finish by Sunday

Yes, I've jumped on the bandwagon for WH. I am not interested in the movie but I am interested in the story. 

And I might jump into:

We shall see. So what is it that you are reading? What's on you TBR? Gimmie gimmie the yummy recs! 

Casual Friday Readathon (Updates)

 

I have the whole day off from work, no appointments, nothing that needs doing so I'm taking full advantage of it! I still do have to do my normal stuff for the Lady but otherwise, it's readathon day! 

I'm setting my alarm for 7am, going to get the coffee started and all the morning stuffs done then at 8am I'm gonna plop down and start reading!

Got some snacks and drinks and caffeine. I have a stack of books that I can choose from. 

I'll start with 

Let's goooo! 

First Update: 8am-11am

Wizard and Glass

Starting Page: 160
Ending Page:  247

Total Pages: 87

Notes: Made breakfast, did some things for the Lady and took the doggo outside. Spent some time reading on the porch and did some dishes. 

Gonna take a lil breaky and then back to reading. 

Second Update: 12pm- 6:30pm

Wizard and Glass

Starting Page: 247
Ending Page: 282

Total Pages: 35

Notes: Took a nap, made some dinner for the Lady and myself. Took a bath and will admit that I got sucked into the tiktok hole. I'm not giving up on the thon, I think I'll stay up pretty late tonight reading so I should get another update in before I crash later. 

So I am rolling my Readathon over to the weekend. I still have work but I'm going to take every single chance I have to read more! 

Winter's Respite Readathon (Month Long)

 

I've joined! Will update periodically through the month! 

Casual Readathon

 This is a casual lil shindig for me! Starting now (Thurs. 15th, @ 11am) and ending Saturday (not yet decided when yet) *maybe even rolling over to Sunday, I dunno* I will be reading any chance I get. Any time I can sit my ass on the sofa, reading. Anytime I have a free moment, reading. No pressure, no goals..though it would be lovely to finish a book..just reading. 

I have work, house chores, taking care of the Lady but in the in between times I have plenty of chances to read. 

This is also impromptu. 

First up:

I'm starting from page: 176 

I'll keep ya posted, probably daily, maybe more frequent. We shall see! 

Weekly Reads

 

This week I hope to wrap up The Waste Lands and start on the 4th book, Wizard and Glass, and finish Pride and Prejudice. 

I'm looking forward to marking The Waste Lands as my first read of 2026. I might make Wednesday a readathon as I have that whole day off. The Lady has a nurse visit so I'll have to take a break for that and of course the typical daily chores that I do, but otherwise I'm thinking about a social media/tv/youtube black out so I can focus on reading as much as I can cram into one day. 

That'll be fun. I have a lot of catching up to do. 

What are you reading or planning on reading this week? 

Weekend Plans

 

So because of a change in my work schedule I have this afternoon, tomorrow during the day and Sunday during the day. 

So that means I have plenty of time to read! I want to finish The Wastelands (book 3 in the Dark Tower series) and get some in on the rest of my TBR. 

I am extremely motivated! Also, reviews will start to show up here very very soon. I've got a little bank of reviews that need to be posted.  

So what are your plans for the weekend? 

Weekly Reading Plans

 

I feel like I'm on a roll now! I've made it to book 3 in the Dark Tower series! So I'm going to try to keep this train rolling! 

This week I'm going to be enjoying:

That's the one that I think I'll finish this week but I have 2 more that I'm going to have on the menu as well:

and

We shall see what all gets done but I am excited about this reading streak! 

What are you going to be reading? 

2025 Yuletide Spirit 24 in 48 Readathon -Updated

 

Okay peoples! I'm going to be joining this lil challenge/thon thing this weekend! I DO have work and I AM sick but I will do my best! This here ole readathon is a laid back kind of deal. You aim to read 24 hours in a 48 hour timeframe. I'll have my timer on my phone and do my best to squeeze in as much reading as I can in between work and whatever the weekend flings my way. (Probably naps and coughing!)

I'll do a few lil updates during the weekend to update on my progress. I am hoping to finish up The Drawing of The Three by Stephen King.

So first up: 

Starting on page: 110

Join in the fun if you want! 

UPDATE:

I finished The Drawing of the Three. I didn't read for 24 hours but I did manage to hit 17 hours total read so I count that as a win! 

December Doohickies Day 20

 

So some sort of bug has gotten me. I'm not feeling the greatest at the moment. Still have to work and of course take care of the Lady but that's pretty much where my energy has been spent. I did read a little bit yesterday but not enough to be remarkable. 

I don't know if it's the flu or some other bug. My symptoms are all over the place, but I'm doing my best to kick it. 

Today I have my usual Saturday work load and my usual chores ( I tend to plan chores light on Saturday). So I will try to read around my shifts and stuff. 

Still reading The Drawing of The Three, Mistborn and the Borgias. 

December Doohickies Day 14th

 

I hope you have had yourself a great weekend so far! I'm finishing up some chores and then sitting down to read more. I've gotten started on The Gunslinger, which as of now is a bit confusing..but I've seen that this is common when starting the Dark Tower series. You either have to push through or skip to the 2nd book because there's a recap at the start. I'm thinking in order to get all the back story and world building familiarized, that I'll just push through. 

I'm also going to try to get more read in Mistborn. 

The Gunslinger isn't that long of a book, so I am hoping to have it finished before or by Wednesday. I'm starting to really feel like my goal of 5 books by the end of the month is going to be very possible! 

What have you been reading this weekend? 

December Doohickies Day 13

 

I did a LOT of reading yesterday! I mean a LOT a LOT. I finished A History Of Women in America. I started on The Gunslinger (Dark Tower 1) and a little bit of Mistborn. 

I will be doing a mini review of A History Of Women In America, probably Monday. It isn't exactly the kind of book that you give a star rating to. It's history. But I got engrossed in it and just couldn't put it down. I think I went to bed at 11pm last night. 

So my plans for today are pretty simple, Saturdays are my heavy work days (I have a job outside of taking care of the Lady). So I will be reading and doing things in between shifts. So I don't predict that much reading going on, but I will squeeze in as much as I can. 

I know I have Mistborn and The Gunslinger on deck, but I'm trying to decide which non-fiction book to read as well. I'm thinking it's gonna be The Borgias by Michael Mallett.

Along with reading Stephen King in 2026, I think I'm going to try to read at least 2 non-fiction books (mostly history since I'm a nerd for it) a month. 

So what are your weekend plans? Are you ready for Christmas? Do you feel the Christmas spirit? 

December Doohickies Day 12

 

Today is my day off, but it's also the Lady's nurse check in day. She had a small procedure so I was busy this morning and into the afternoon. She's good and resting now so I'm chilling now. 

I have 3 books that I'm reading on and off today, A History of Women in America, Mistborn, and The Gunslinger (the dark tower book 1). 

That last one goes into what I've decided for one of my reading goals for 2026. I'm going to read a lot of Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Robin Hobb. 

I've loaded my kindle up with a lot of those writer's books. I have a boxed set of the Dark Tower series and a few other physical copies of other SK books.

I don't have anything planned today other than chilling and reading. I've caught up on Welcome to Derry, which is the only show I'm really addicted to nowadays, so I have nothing to watch. 

Anyone got any reading challenges for 2026 going on? What are your goals for next year? 

December Doohickies Day 10 and 11

 

So I missed an update yesterday, boo! I was on a roll, but I did have a very good day yesterday! I slept in, relaxed most of the day and had a very chill one! I did get some reading in and I did catch up on Welcome To Derry. 

Ya'll! This show is so so good! I won't spoiler anything but damn..this show had me gasping in shock and grossing me out and then in the next scene crying like a little baby! (If you know, you know!) 

I also finished up that Diddy doc on Netflix, it was mostly a curiosity watch...was decent. 

Today I have the day off and a few chores to get done but I don't work until later today. 

What are you doing today? Have you been watching Welcome to Derry? What do you think of it if you are? 

December Doohickies Day 7

 

It's a bit late, but I have had a pretty relaxed and chill day. Did my things, took a nice long nap and some meal prep. I have been reading on and off all day long. 

After this upcoming week, I do have more work hours put into my schedule so this upcoming week I am going to be squeezing more reading in as I can! I've got to shake this lazy streak with my exercise! So that's also going to be a priority too. 

This was a very short update, tomorrow I'm going to post about my reading goals! I am still hoping to get 10 books done, but it's not looking likely. So I may try to aim for 5, which with how slow I read that might be a high total but I'm going to give it a shot!

I'm also wondering about reading tracker apps. I know there's Goodreads, but I don't really like the format. Anyone got any good suggestions? 

How's your weekend been? I hope it's good! 

December Doohickies Day 6

 

Happy Weekend Everyone! Today is my "heavy work" day. I have two shifts today and some cleaning things I need to do. I've already spent some time reading in between the things and before my work. 

I got some reading done yesterday and last night too. 

I'm really enjoying Mistborn (first book) and can see myself diving right into the second one soon after! A History of Women in America is also very very interesting. That's what I've been reading first thing today, it's not as dry as some history books that I've read, so that helps my attention span stay focused. 

Tomorrow I just have my normal shift later in the day, but Sunday is usually my day of "reset" and meal prepping. I still should have quite a nice chunk of day to get some good reading sprints done! 

How are you guys liking these daily updates? 
Too much? Too boring (probably)?

See ya tomorrow! 

December Doohickies Day 4

 

Look at me go! So things should be settling down and returning back to sorta normalcy. She's back home from the hospital and getting settled in. Her nurse will be visiting her to check in sometime today and I have work later, but in the middle of the day I have plenty of "spare time" to use to read. 

I'm going to be meal prepping some foods and a bit of tidying up and of course taking care of the lady but I think I'm going to aim for an hour or two of reading in total today. 

I am going to do a mini readathon tomorrow. I'm thinking I'll aim for 10-12 hours total reading time tomorrow. I have plans for the night so it'll be day reading a bunch. 

Still reading Mistborn and A History Of Women in America. I'm going to try to finish AHoWiA tomorrow. 

December Doohickies Day 3

 

This one is going to be a short update. Yesterday, the woman that I am a caregiver for had to have an ambulance pick her up and take her to the ER. She's fine, had to have a minor surgery and is due to come home sometime today. I didn't read much yesterday obviously and kind of had to grab whatever food I could snag quickly. 

Today is my day off from work, but with all that's bound to happen today I don't know how much actual reading time I'll be able to squeeze in. 

I do have Friday off, so maybe that can be my designated reading day? She usually has her nurse visit then, but that's only an hour or so out of the day. 

So there's my Day 2 update. 

Today I will squeeze in as much reading as I can manage. I am exhausted though, I didn't get to bed until about 2:30am and got a text from her at about 5 something (was too bleary eyed to see for certain) letting me know how she was doing. 

How's your December going so far? 

See ya tomorrow! 

December Doohickies Day 2

 

How's it going ya'll? This isn't gonna be a long post or anything, but yesterday went swimmingly. I got my 2 hours of reading in, finished my to do list and stuck to my goals for exercise and diet. So good on me! 

Today I didn't do the treadmill but I did some stretches and have been on my feet a lot already. I'm about to have my breakfast and get some reading started up. 

Mistborn is hooking me in and I'm really enjoying it. My kindle told me I started out with a bit over 15 hours of read time and I finished up with a little over 11 hours left (not sure how that translates to pages). So I take that as a win too! 

I also did some reading in my other book, History of Women in America. That's a more "thinky" kind of book so it is slow going but very very interesting! I am liking Mistborn (first in the series) so much I went ahead and got the next two books!

It's a cold, wet day today so I don't know how my energy is going to hold out but I'm going to do my best to stay on this streak!

Tomorrow I have the day off so I am going to really really focus on reading! 

I hope you all have a wonderful day and "see" you tomorrow! 

A Bookish December

 

I know I know, I come and then I go and then I come back and then I go again. Lately I've been contemplating the future of this blog. Should I keep it or should I let it die? I'm not ready to say goodbye to Much Read Faster, so that leaves me with no other choice but to keep on chugging. My reading has fallen into a slump of sorts, but I've been making it a daily priority and I'm feeling that sluggish bookworm start to wake up again! 

I'm dangling the carrot in front of it to get it ready to chow down on some yummy papery delights this month..

My goals for December are to gobble up 10 books. That's a doable amount I think. 

I won't make a TBR stack but I have a few in mind. 

Currently I'm reading these two: 

So those are my starting books for the month. 

I'm also thinking about doing a couple of my own personal readathons this month too. I have Wednesdays and Fridays off work, so I might just pick on of those days each week to read all day if I can? We shall see how that goes. I'm finding myself less and less attracted to doomscrolling and aimless watching of things and more drawn to my books and kindle, so I'm going to take from one bad distraction and feed a much better one. 

What are you planning this month? Do you have any goals to finish up the year? Drop me some recommendations for books that you are reading or excited about!